Allen/Democrat photo
The dining room of Buffalo Wild Wings at the Rochester Commons is expected to be full Sunday morning as it opens its doors for the first time.

ROCHESTER —The lengths some people will go for free buffalo wings.

Jeff Applegate, owner of the new Buffalo Wild Wings to open at Rochester Crossing on Sunday, Sept. 30, said he is counting on dozens of people camping out overnight starting the Saturday before to win his grand prize.

The restaurant, nicknamed "B-Dubs," is offering free wings for a year to the first 100 guests who attend their grand opening at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Applegate explained the yearly supply is limited though, where customers can receive six free wings each week for 52 weeks.

He said when the Buffalo Wild Wings he also owns opened at the Fox Run Mall in Newington, the turnout came early for the event, and lined up at midnight. He's betting Rochester will show up with the same propensity to win free food Sunday morning.

"The free wings for a year event, they start lining up at midnight," he said. "They set up tents and we have porta-potties and we have food and drink and everything during the night."

When asked why Rochester was ideal for the family style, sports-theme restaurant, which offers "14 signature sauces" for wings along with salads, appetizers and various other menu items, Applegate explained the Lilac City was asking for a venue like this.

"We had such an overwhelming response from the Newington opening, from all the local people in this market, and we had so many people inquire that we thought we would do our homework," he said. "And Rochester was the perfect fit for our brand."

Construction is also under way at the local shopping center for a new building which will house a PetSmart, a pet specialty retail superstore, to open this coming spring. The new 12,157 square foot structure will offer a broad range of competitively priced pet products and in-store services including pet adoption, grooming and training, according to a release from the Crossing's developer "The Wilder Companies."

The Wilder Companies said with both chain stores, Buffalo Wild Wings and PetSmart, Rochester Crossing will offer a broad range of high-quality items to the Seacoast area, conveniently located off the Spaulding Turnpike.

Andy LaGrega, a partner with the Wilder Companies, told Foster's the deal "came together very quickly" with Buffalo Wild Wings, with talks of setting up the restaurant beginning this last spring.

"We're very selective because it's not about getting them most rent, it's about getting the most tenants in the mix," LaGrega said. "What we were missing was a sit down restaurant."

He added Buffalo Wild Wings hit all the right marks.

Applegate said he is excited for the weekend, and invites the public to come out for the grand opening, with lining up and camping out starting at about 11:59 p.m. Saturday night.

"If you don't know anything about Buffalo Wild Wings, we're for families ¿ A lot of people think, 'Oh, it's just a sports bar,' but we're really a casual-dine family restaurant with a sports theme to it," he explained. "We have more families than we do anything nowadays¿We're very family-oriented and we're community-oriented."

Click image to enlarge

Allen/Democrat photo
Buffalo Wild Wings in the Rochester Commons will open its doors at 11 a.m. Sunday morning after many locals will camp out to win free wings for one year.